1. Technical Field
The invention relates to a wind turbine station. The invention is more particularly directed toward a wind turbine station having an open frame, multi-story structure with many turbines on each floor using wind energy to produce electricity.
2. Background Art
Wind energy has been used for a long time since the 1200s in Europe, where it was used in mills to grind grain between millstones, then was used as drainage windmills by Dutch, oil mills to press oil from seeds, paint mills, hulling mills, and glue mills. The end of 20th century and the beginning of 21st century brought important advancement to wind turbines and wind becomes a possible energy source, an alternative to fossil fuel.
Sun radiation incident on the earth every year is 5.6×1024 J. Sun energy is dispersed in atmosphere layers and on the earth's surface where it warms the air and generates wind. Primary energy use for the whole world is estimated at about 500 EJ that requires 16 TW capacity generators. The total consumed energy is less than 0.01% from the solar radiation captured in the Earth's atmosphere and surface, and about 0.2% of kinematical energy in wind. That means wind is a vast source of alternative, sustainable and clean energy.
Current state of the art comprises giant wind turbines that have three foil blades operate on an approximately 100-125 m high hub, where they rotate in the foil vertical plane. These giant or utility turbines have a maximum energy output that is reached when the wind speed is 10 to 14 m/s and maintain this maximum energy output until reaching a cut-out speed of 25-40 m/sec.
Current state of the art utility wind turbines use giant turbines which have approximately 1 MW average generated electrical capacity, throughout the year. However, the inherent disadvantages of utility wind turbines, prevent the current technology from being a feasible alternative to fossil fuel, nuclear and other conventional energies. The current state of the art wind turbines have many drawbacks.
Current wind turbines take up too large land areas in wind farms where land between turbines is deemed, usually, to be non-useful because of noise and shade flickers associated with operating large wind turbines. The space required by utility wind turbine averages between 8.5-33 hectare/MW, in Europe and The USA respectively where the output of fluctuating electricity is assumed to be completely useful as it's mixed with fossil fuel based electricity. Current state of the art wind turbines generate noise which is detrimental to human health within approximately 2 km from the turbines (Wind Turbine Syndrome). Wind Turbine Syndrome causes people living in the vicinity of 2 Km of wind farms to have headaches, loss of memory and other illnesses because of vibration and low-frequency noise. Current state of the art large wind turbines kill bird and bats.
Current state of the art wind turbines provide electricity voltage, frequency, current and output which fluctuate all the time as a normal result of wind speed variation over time and it's not feasible to store the energy in a chemical media and then regenerate the electricity consistent with demand, because the cost of electricity would have increased 4 times more than the present cost of wind electricity which is already too high.
According to EON Energy company in Germany, the current state of the art wind turbines generate electricity which has 4% capacity credit, (or firm capacity which is a fraction of wind installed capacity and which is in the grid or available all the time) when grid penetration (percentage of wind electricity in the grid) is 49 GW in the German grid. In other words, the 49 GW installed capacity wind turbines are able to displace only 2 GW of fossil fuel generators. That because of fluctuation in wind speed, then in the turbine output.